IRVINE, Calif. – April 27, 2017 – ATTOM Data Solutions' Q1 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report finds that homeowners who sold in the first quarter realized an average price gain of $44,000 since purchase – an average 24 percent return on the purchase price, and the highest average price gain for home sellers in terms of both dollars and percent returns since the third quarter of 2007.

The report also shows that homeowners who sold in the first quarter had owned an average of 7.97 years, down slightly from a record-high average homeownership tenure of 8.00 years in Q4 2016 but still up from 7.68 years in Q1 2016.

Before the great recession, homeownership averaged 4.26 years nationwide.

"The first quarter of 2017 was the most profitable time to be a home seller in nearly a decade, and yet homeowners are continuing to stay put in their homes longer before selling," says Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions. "This counterintuitive combination is in part the result of the low inventory of move-up homes available for current homeowners, while also perpetuating the scarcity of starter homes available for first-time homebuyers.

"There are some early signs this inventory logjam may be loosening up in some markets, with the average homeownership tenure down from a year ago in nine of the 66 markets we analyzed, including Memphis, Dallas, Boston, Portland and Tampa," Blomquist says. "Sky-high potential price gains may be finally prompting more homeowners to sell."